Look, no one understands the appeal of the AirPods Max better than us, but even at its Prime Day price, it's still ludicrously expensive. But don't lose hope; if you're in the market for some active noise-canceling headphones, AirPods Max aren't the only option for you.
While the Jabra Elite 85H may sell for a lot cheaper than the AirPods Max, you would never be able to tell it's a budget brand due to its fantastic build quality and comfort. At 296 grams, these are pretty heavy headphones, but the plastic band, covered in a spongy mesh, does a good job spreading the weight evenly. Wearing the Jabra Elite 85H for a long period won't feel like a bother.
Even better, the Jabra Elite 85H are only $158 at Amazon this Prime Day, and, at that price, they are well worth your consideration if AirPods Max are our of your price range.
Why we love the Jabra 85H so much
Jabra's noise-canceling over-the-ear headphones sound great and have decent ANC, but it's the little conveniences like incredible battery life, water resistance, and physical controls that make it a true competitor in this field.
A few things help the Jabra Elite 85h stand above the competition.
Its 36-hour battery life is simply outstanding. That's a better battery life than both the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM5. Plus, with the ability to fast charge over USB-C, you can get five hours of listening time with 15 minutes of charging on a dead battery.
We also love that the Jabra Elite 85Hs come with physical controls. A play/pause button and volume controls are on the right earcup embedded into the mesh housing, and they work great. Many other brands opt for gesture-based controls (looking at you, Sony) that provide a less than stellar experience. Couple that with the auto-pause feature that ensures your audio stop playing when you take off the cans, and you have a nice set of features that make using the Jabra Elite 85H a true joy.
Obviously, if you want all the Apple goodness that comes with AirPods Max, then you'll want to check out the best Prime Day AirPods deals. However, if you're going to stretch your money as far as possible this Prime Day, the Jabra 85H are the noise-canceling headphones to get.
